The Environmental Law Clinic has had a busy fall semester on various matters, including providing community groups with help in public participation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Such work has involved extensive legal counseling on road and rail projects in the state of Maryland. In addition, two students in the Environmental Law Clinic—Michael Sammartino and Liz Johnson—hosted an educational webinar about public engagement under NEPA. Using Maryland’s proposed expansion of the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County as a case study, the webinar explained the importance of public comments in the NEPA process, provided general tips to guide non-lawyers in drafting their comments, and highlighted specific strategies for commenting on environmental justice issues. The Clinic co-hosted the webinar along with Maryland Sierra Club, Sierra Club, Rock Creek Conservancy, Audubon Naturalist Society, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion, National Parks Conservation Association, and Coalition for Smarter Growth. Attendance totaled around 70 people.
The clinic put out an updated version of its National Environmental Law Clinic Directory. The directory consists of over 50 environmental law clinics from across the country, serving as a resource to connect clinics with each other in hopes of working together. To receive a copy of the directory please reach out to Kate Woods, kwoods@law.umaryland.edu.